The Reverse Cork Method
Instead of trying to get the cork out of the wine bottle without a corkscrew, try to get it in. Place the end of a wooden spoon’s handle on top of the cork. Using a rubber mallet, the back of a cleaver, or a rolling pin, tap on the top of the spoon so that the handle pushes the cork further into the bottle until the neck is clear and the cork is floating, fully intact, in the wine.
Heat The Wine Bottle Up Method
If youre prepared to sacrifice a bottle of wine and make some mulled wine out of it, this method is an easy one to remove the cork from a bottle of wine.
- Put a pan of water onto a boil.
- Take the pan off the heat once the water has begun to boil.
- Place the bottle of wine into the hot water and wait for the cork to slide out of the bottle.
- Throw away the hot water and empty the bottle of wine into the pan and make mulled wine from it, because lets be fair, no one likes drinking warm wine.
So there you have it, 8 ways on how to open a wine bottle without a bottle opener, including if you dont have a corkscrew. Have you ever had to try one of these methods? Or have you found your own way to open a bottle of wine? Let us know.
How To Open A Wine Bottle With A Lighter
This is our favorite way to open a wine bottle without a wine opener. But please be careful. It involves fire.
First, remove the foil or wax to expose the cork. Then use a lighter and apply the flame on the neck of the bottle, just beneath where the cork is. The idea is to heat the air beneath the cork. This causes the air to expand and push the cork upward.
Rotate the placement of the lighter around the bottleâs neck to make sure youâre heating all the air. In a minute or two, youâll see the cork creeping upwards and out.
This is our preferred method because thereâs no risk in breaking the cork and it’s nothing something you learn about wine from a book.
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Never Open Wine With A Wire Hanger
The mildest unanimous “no” was for the wire hanger corkscrew, where you fashion one out of a clothes hanger. This lands in the “worst” category not for safety reasons, but for its ineffectualness. The problem here is leverage”It’d be hard to get enough to open it cleanly,” says Brickel. Contributing to that is its lack of strength. As Ortiz points out, it’s not a strong enough material to hold its shape, nor sharp enough to cut into a cork, even though insertion may not be that hard.
Hot Fireplace Tongs And Snow
According to New York City bartender Nick Venditti, you can recreate the port tongs method using hot fireplace tongs and some good old-fashioned snow. used this at my parents house upstate because there was no corkscrew but there was a wood-burning stove. he says. I heated up the tongs until they were red-hot, grabbed the bottle around the neck with them, brought the bottle outside and immediately packed snow around the neck. It cracked evenly at the neck line. I ran it through a funnel and strainer to be safe, but there were no glass shards in it.
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Add Pressure With A Bike Pump
Happen to have a bike pump nearby? Probably not, but it’s still a neat tool to use for a unique wine-opening method, as Kristy Kreme shows on YouTube.
Stick your bike pump into the cork, and get pumping. As you force air into and through the cork, you’ll create enough pressure to make it fly out of the bottle.
No Hanger To Spare Use Paper Clips
If destroying a perfectly good hanger is out of the question, you can use paper clips instead. Its the same concept as with the hanger, but this one requires more precision.
a.) Partially straighten two paper clips, but just the middle part. Dont straighten the U shapes on both ends.
b.) Slide one down between the cork and side of the bottle, then do the same on the opposite side of the cork. Push down until the U-shape is below the cork.
c.) Rotate the clip to position the U-shapes beneath the cork.
d.) Join the two other U-shapes outside the bottle. You can insert a pencil under the hooks or tie them together in a tight knot.
e.) Slowly pull the clips up, making sure the cork is going as well. Give it a few twists while pulling up.
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Hook Em With A Hanger
This method is relatively easy, but it entails saying goodbye to one of your wire hangers you wont be using it to hang clothes again. First, bend the tip of the hanger about 30 degrees back if you do this right, it will look like a fish hook. Next, slide the wire down into the sealed wine bottle, alongside the cork. Rotate the wire 90 degrees so that the hook is underneath the cork. Simply pull the wire up, and the cork should release. Pliers or other household items can be used to tug at the hanger if it seems stuck. Just be sure to use a towel or gloves for protection.
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
The way to never get caught out, of course, is to always carry a corkscrew with you. That’s not as difficult as it sounds. I have a Victorinox Swiss Army Multi-tool Pocket Knife which I take with me everywhere. I used to keep it in the central console of the car, but later fastened it to my key ring, so that now I’m never without a corkscrew .
If you are going to buy a Swiss Army Knife with a view to opening wine, it’s worth spending a little more money, in my experience, as the corkscrew tool often breaks with the cheaper pocket knives. I bought my Victorinox nearly five years ago, it follows a classic design and is a quality product, and everything still works great, including the corkscrew!
There are also some great key chain wine-opening tools available that are focused entirely on unscrewing bottles, they are usually less bulky than multi-tool pocket knives as well as more affordable.
Another tip is to always to keep a corkscrew in your car when traveling, the glove box, central console, or trunk are all good places. It’s amazing how many times it can come in handy!
This content is accurate and true to the best of the authorâs knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
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The Wire Hanger Method
This tip demands just a little bit of extra labor, but it’s a fairly safe method of cork removal.
You may want to wrap a cloth when you’re pulling to provide a better, more comfortable grip.
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How To Use A Bike Pump To Open A Wine Bottle
If youre not sure the wooden spoon hack is right for you , dont despair. Theres another option to open wine and its about as unexpected and simple as it gets.
For this maneuver, youll need:
- A bicycle pump with a needle attachment
First, take the needle and push it straight through into the center of the cork. Slowly start pumping air into the bottle. The cork should gradually begin to rise up the neck of the bottle. Once it gets closer to the top of the bottle, you can wiggle the cork to pull it out. And just like that, your wine bottle is open.
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If You Dont Have A Wine Opener Use Fire To Open Your Wine Bottle
Yes, you totally read that right. Im sure youre wondering, how can you open wine with fire? Well, grab a lighter and well show you.
How to open wine with a lighter
Clever Ways To Open A Bottle Of Wine Without A Corkscrew
If youre a wine lover, you know you should always have a corkscrew on hand to help you open a new bottle effortlessly. At some point in your life, however, you may find yourself with a great need to open a bottle of wine but no corkscrew. Maybe youre at a friends house, having a picnic, or on vacation somewhere and this happens to you. Before you have to go wine-less or resort to the unthinkable forcing the cork into the bottle we have a few suggestions for you to try first!
Screw + Screwdriver + Hammer = Win
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so pretend you have a corkscrew by using a few household tools! Find a long screw , a screwdriver, and a hammer. Stick the screw into the cork, and then use the screwdriver to push it in further until you can see about an inch of the screw. Next, grab the hammer and use the claw to pull both the screw and the cork out of the bottle. Voila your bottle of wine is open!
Pump It Up
Have a bike pump close by? Snag it, stick the pump into the cork, and start pumping! In time youll force air into and through the cork, which will create enough pressure to make the cork slowly move out of the bottle. Pretty nifty trick, right? We thought so, too.
Twist It Out with a Key or Knife
Grab a Towel and Hit the Wall
Slap It Out With a Shoe
Try Slicing It Off
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A Screw Screwdriver And Hammer
If youre caught without a wine opener, but you do have access to a tool kit, using a screw, screwdriver, and a hammer is a pretty effective way to uncork a wine bottle. Simply grab a screw , and screw it into the cork with your screwdriver until theres only about an inch of the screw left exposed. Now, take the backside of your hammer, lock it under the screw, and pull the cork out. Simple, right? Just be careful wielding heavy tools around a glass wine bottle!
Make A Handle Out Of Scissors
Open a pair of scissors so that the two blades are spread apart from one another. Stab one blade straight down into the cork. Gripping the scissors where the two blades meet, twist the cork out, pulling up little by little until it pops free. Its easier than it sounds. Here are 10 more brilliant uses for ordinary kitchen tools you never thought of.
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How To Use A Screwdriver To Open A Bottle Of Wine
Oh no, disaster: Youre ready to open a bottle of wine but then realize you dont have a corkscrew or wine key. Dont fear, though. There are a few gadgets you might have lying around the house that can help you out.
First up, the screwdriver method. For this maneuver you will need:
- A long screw
- A screwdriver
- A hammer
Use the screwdriver to insert the screw into the center of the cork . Leave enough of the screw sticking out of the cork so you can get a firm grip on it.
Next, take the back of a hammer and use it to pull the cork from the bottle. Get ready for a struggle as this is not an easy method. You may be pulling for a while, but that glass of wine is worth it, right?
The Old Screw And Hammer Trick
Screws are fairly easy to find at home, and if youre lucky, youll find a screw with a hook just like what you use to hang picture frames. Its the easiest and most successful trick there is because youre just mimicking how a corkscrew works.
a.) Just screw the picture hook into the cork and wiggle the cork out, nice and easy.
b.) If you have a regular hookless screw, you can use the backside of a hammer to lock the screw under it and pull the cork out. You can also use a pair of pliers.
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How To Get A Cork Out Without A Corkscrew
When it comes to how to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew, there’s something you’ll need in abundance: ingenuity. Each method relies on using common items that are likely to be lying around the house. So, if you are about to log on to a virtual wine tasting and cant locate a corkscrew, try one of the creative and quirky methods listed below.
via Canva
How To Open A Wine Bottle Without A Corkscrew
Drink up, MacGyver.
Opening a bottle of wine can be tricky even with a corkscrew. But not having a corkscrew on hand can lead to all sorts of bottle-opening adventures, whether youre planning to pair food and wine, make sangria, cook your favorite wine-fueled dish or just indulge in a glass. With a little bit of creativity and persistence youll be sipping Chardonnay in no time. Here are four ways to open a wine bottle without a corkscrew. Note that you should exercise caution with any of these methods, and when in doubt, save the bottle for another time, with better tools at your disposal.
Break Out the Toolbox
No corkscrew? No problem. If you have a toolbox handy you can jerry-rig your own way to lever the cork out of the bottle. If you have a long screw , a screwdriver and a hammer, youre in business. Just use the screwdriver to twist the screw into the cork . Make sure to leave about an inch of screw to be able to pull that cork and screw out. Once the screw is in, take the back of a hammer and grip the screw. Make sure its locked in good before pulling out. The end result is hopefully an open bottle of wine!
Push the Cork In
Household items May Do the Trick
Use Your Shoe
The internet yields dozens more hacks, including bike pumps and beyond, but we like to err on the side of safety and effectiveness, so that you can get on with enjoying your bottle. Good luck!
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The Best Ways To Open Wine Without A Bottle Opener
With that PSA out of the way: Is there a safe and reliable way to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew? Our panel reluctantly concedes that there are two. They’re far from ideal and our pros definitely don’t encourage experimentation with these measures, but when desperate times call, these might be the answer:
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Open Wine With A Screw And Hammer
The idea here: twist a long screw into the cork, then pull it out using the claw part of a hammer.
“This seems like the general idea of how a waiter’s corkscrew works,” says Brickel. “Using torque and leverage to remove it.” But both he and Ortiz fear that applying force to a hammer pressed against the mouth of the bottle can shatter the glass. “No one wants wine with a hint of glass shard in it!” Ortiz emphasizes. Although both are willing to give the method the benefit of the doubt, Selinger states bluntly: “This is a good way to get cork into your wine or lose a part of your hand.”
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Push It With A Wooden Spoon
A wooden spoon with a long, thin handle is the perfect instrument to shove the cork right into the bottle and free your wine, according to Food Mob Bites. Remove any foil covering, and apply pressure to the top of the cork. With some strength, it should pop free and slide into the bottle without creating any cork crumbs.
Ways To Open A Bottle Of Wine Without A Corkscrew
At any wine shop, consumers are faced with a choice: Go for the bottle with a cork closure a more romantic option but one that requires more effort to open or reach for the screw cap for easy access? For those who decide on the former option, only to find that their corkscrew seems to be missing, theres no need to fret. There are, as it turns out, more ways to open a bottle of wine than there are to seal them.
Quick disclaimer: Most of these methods arent 100 percent foolproof. So tread carefully, as many of these methods run the risks of breaking the cork and having it shed into the wine, chipping the wine bottle, or, in a worst-case scenario, shattering the wine bottle completely. If you have a rare and/or expensive wine that would break your heart if broken in this process, wed advise you to wait until you have a corkscrew. However, in most other circumstances, these options can help lift you from despair and grant you a pleasant vino-filled night.
Need help opening a beer bottle? See our guide on how to open a bottle without a bottle opener!
drop!
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